Eastern Chipmunk Scat and Tracks: How to Identify Them (Tamias striatus)

Rodent droppings are small and dark; shape and size are the first cut (rice-grain with pointed ends for mice, blunt and larger for rats, oval pellets for squirrels and voles). Tracks show four toes on the front foot and five on the hind, and most rodents bound, so the larger hind prints land ahead of the front prints. Gnaw marks with paired incisor grooves are often the clearest sign. The measurements below for Eastern Chipmunk are quoted from the wildlife agencies linked at the bottom of the page.

• Front: Front footprint about 0.75 inches long, 4 toes
• Hind: Hind footprint about 1.25 inches long (about 0.5-0.875 inches when the heel does not touch down), 5 toes
• Toes: 4 toes on the front foot, 5 toes on the hind foot
• Gait: Bounding intervals of 6-12 inches, tracks in clusters of 4, with the front feet landing toward the back between the hind feet

• Carries food in cheek pouches: Chipmunks stuff nuts and seeds into their cheek pouches to carry them back to the burrow for storage
• Underground storage chamber: A chipmunk burrow's storage chamber may hold up to half a bushel of nuts and seeds
• Burrow entrance with no visible dirt mound: Chipmunks have limited digging ability and often burrow under rocks, logs, or buildings

The Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel has 13 alternating light and dark stripes running from head to rump along its back and sides

Put something of known size next to it (a coin, a pen, a boot) and shoot straight down in soft light; low side light brings out the shape of tracks in mud or snow. For scat, photograph the whole deposit and one close-up showing contents. Note where it was: on a log, in the open, on a trail, near water. The app suggests the likely animal; confirm with the size and shape notes above.